When watching films from all over the world, most films typically contain some form of
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Hollywood Influences in International Films
Hollywood Influence in Brazilian Cinema
Hollywood: The Golden Model
Hollywood, being basically the center of the film industry, serves as a model for many other countries. Using the most advanced technology and special effects, it draws viewers from all over the world. One country where Hollywood has made a huge influence is Brazil. Brazilian filmmakers many time
s imitate those North American films which were successful worldwide in order to try and also imitate the film’s success. In fact, one criticism of Brazilian cinema is that their films contribute almost nothing to their nation’s culture, since most of the films are mere imitations of North American films. But, this imitation of North American films goes farther than just the film industry. Apparently, the Brazilian public has based their way of life after North American films. The American films have had so much influence in Brazil that Brazilians feel that the films will provide them with better images of life. One area of Brazilian cinema that has had great influence is the use of technology and special effects. Hollywood, having such a large budget, is able to spend a great amount of money on such effects. Brazilian cinema, on the other hand, has much less funding and it is hard for them to compete with the effects in Hollywood films. Brazilian cinema carries a lot 
of Hollywood influence due to the interest of the general public and the fascination of the special effects and new technology.More than just films imitating North America, the general public does so too. Films which imitate the Hollywood style do significantly better than the national films because the general public views it as their way of life. They appreciate Hollywood-style films and those films make much more money at the box office then those which are about Brazilian culture. One tactic Brazilian cinema uses to imitate the American way without overspending is to almost make a mockery of how the effects seen in Hollywood are on another level. Brazilian filmmakers know that Hollywood imitations are successful, and when such an imitation is not possible, they choose to exploit it and still draw viewers by basing their film from Hollywood. Glauber Rocha, a Brazilian filmmaker, states that the Brazilian people seem to appreciate American style films much more than any other type: “A vicious circle: when most Brazilians make films, they make them "a la Americana," and it is primarily for this reason that Brazilian spectators try to make any Brazilian film they view into a Brazilian film "a la Americana!" If the film is not "North American," it disappoints. “ Rocha explains that a common goal of Brazilian
filmmakers is to imitate American films in order to catch the attention of most Brazilian viewers. Since in general, Brazilian society seems to view Hollywood movies as more appealing, Brazilian movies following the same approach hope to be just as successful.
One interesting type of Hollywood influence in Brazilian films almost mocks their own films and reveals that Hollywood is in fact the most advanced cinema. Some Brazilian filmmakers, when trying to imitate Hollywood styles, realize that with the limited budget and resources, it is not possible. This certain type of film mocks the Brazilian film industry by proving that it is not possible for Brazilian filmmakers to use such effects. On page 305 of the book “Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the Media”, by Ella Shohat and Robert Stam explain “The Brazilian parodies of American films, as Viera points out, tend to focus on superproductions such as King Kong and Jaws, providing a pretext for the directors to mock both the American films and Brazilian inability to imitate their glossy and high-tech production values.” This statement shows that the most successful and most costly films for Hollywood are on another level which Brazilian filmmakers cannot even reach. It shows that when trying to imitate such “superproductions”, Brazilian filmmakers are left with the only choice of turning their films into mockeries. Such a tactic is used in order for Brazilian filmmakers to find a way to imitate such successful Hollywood films without having to try and match the budget and technology in the film.
One aspect found in many strong national cinemas which is missing in Brazilian cinema is a patriotic, national hero which represents the true characteristics of his country. Rocha describes such a character as “the multiple Brazilian man, who lives through each crisis as it presents itself. The tenuousness of the life of such a character, both active and reflective, is not found in our cinema, though it is present in our literature and theatre. If the Brazilian hero lacks character—as I believe he does—if he is lost and puzzled, without traditions or future, how should he be presented?” In order for a cinema to have a figure which represents it as a whole, it must be able to create a film solely pertaining to its own nation and highlight aspects which would be universally understood throughout the country. Such an example in Hollywood would be characters from films like “The Patriot” or “Braveheart”, films which really show American pride and admire characters who seem to fully and greatly represent a country’s values. If Brazilian culture and storylines do not excite Brazilian viewers, than such a character may not be very common in films. Instead, imitations of those films which have become internationally acclaimed would be of more interest to Brazilian viewers.
Not only has Brazilian cinema seen a huge impact from Hollywood, but countries from all over the world have been influenced. Hollywood, being obviously the most successful cinema in the world, whether it be due to the great amount of freedom it is given, or for the amount of capital available, has served as a model for other cinemas. In the book “Remapping World Cinema”, by Stephanie Dennison and Song Hwee Lim, “Classical Hollywood cinema caused a huge impact on cinemas all over the world, changing them all of a sudden into modern cinemas and giving birth, for example, to the Soviet montage cinema and the Shanghai cinema of the 1920’s and 1930’s.” Back when Hollywood was the only major film industry in the world, new industries only had one place to model after. According to Dennison and Lim, some world cinemas only exist after using influence of Hollywood to allow them to look modern and rise up.
Dennisson and Lim believe that if Hollywood did not exist, different film industries would be able to stick to their respective cultures and please their viewers by such methods. Dennisn and Lim explain “I would favour a method in which Hollywood and the West could cease to be the centre of film history,and this would be seen as a process with no single beginning. The advantage of such an approach is that, once the idea of a single centre is eliminated, nothing needs to be excluded form the world cinema map, not even Hollywood, which, instead of a threat, becomes an element or a cinema among others. It can receive major, minor or no attention depending on the object in question.” The authors explain that if Hollywood was not first, and did not serve as a model for other film industries, then other national cinemas would actually be able to appeal their audiences by showing national culture. But, since Hollywood movies were the first ones ever made, and since it fulfilled the expectations of viewers around the world, it continues to impact other cinemas in order to capture viewers who may not be normally interested in Brazilian films. But, if for example, Brazilian viewers only had original Brazilian movies to compare their new ones too, they would find that if movies with a lot of culture were very successful, then the following movies made would imitate as many aspects possible in order to be successful. The filmmakers focus more on the fact that if a certain idea has worked in the past, it should be used again, instead of trying to come up with new insightful ideas which may change viewers forever and be even more successful then other types of movies in the past.
Brazilian cinema has many aspects taken from Hollywood influence. While many people around the world view Hollywood movies as the most technologically advanced and most entertaining, other film industries feel that the same type of films will be successful in their own countries too. Brazliian filmmakers stick to Hollywood imitations because their culture also becomes influenced by such ideas, they cannot compete by the means of both technology and money, and because Hollywood serves as a model for all film industries, and therefore has strong influence on most cinemas around the world.
Works Cited
Dennison, Stephanie, and Song Hwee Lim. Remapping world cinema identity, culture and politics in film. London: Wallflower P, 2006.Rocha, Glauber. "Critical Culture: Rocha on Brazilian Cinema." Weblog post. Critical Culture. 21 Apr. 2009
Shohat, Ella. Unthinking Eurocentrism multiculturalism and the media. London ; New York: Routledge, 1994.
Russian Cinema Before and After Hollywood Influence
When people think of Russia, often they first think of the Soviet Union, the Cold War, communism and how many freedoms that Americans enjoy today were taken away from the Russians during this period of time. If you asked people about how they would characterize Russian cinema during that time period even if they had never seen a Russian film, they would most likely tell you that it was probably heavily censored to prohibit any sort of Western influences. However, even though this is true in a sense, the fact is that Russian cinema flourished to its peak during the Soviet Regime and during the time of Tsars, but as the Soviet Union began to collapse, even though Western influence infiltrated itself into Russian cinema, not only did the Russian style films die, the majority of film-making in Russia died along with it.
Cinema was first brought to Russia by the Lumiere Brothers in May of 1896. Soon after the first Russian film, Stenka Razin, was made by Aleksandr Drankov. Several other notable films were also made such as Oborona Sevanstopolya (The Defense of Sevastopol) and Ukhod Velikovo Startsa (Departure of the Grand Old Man). The film industry boomed to produce almost five hundred films during World War I as the Russians began making anti-German films. After World War I and the Russian Revolution, the Soviet Union was formed which brought about a huge change in film production. The content of all films produced was subject to much censorship and control by the state government. However, this did not keep the Soviet Union’s films from gaining significant success, especially after World War II. Notable films that were produced are Battleship Potemkin, Mother, as well as Ballad of Siberia. After the 1950’s the censorship of movies was relaxed, which gave Soviet films more international recognition. Notable films are Ballada o Soldate (Ballad of a Soldier), The Cranes are Flying, Solaris, Seventeen Instants of Spring and White Sun of the Desert. Beginning in the mid 1980’s is when the censorship began to collapse as the Soviet regime came to a close, which is when most of the Western influences began to immerge in Russian films. These Western films were called Ostern, followed by other films dealing with drug addiction, and sexuality.
As can be told from the names of most of the Russian films during the pre-World War I time as well as the Soviet era, the vast majority of the films produced are about important events that have or are occurring in Russia or involving Russia. Notable examples of this are Sergei Eisenstein’s silent film Battleship Potemkin which tells the story of the events that lead up to the 1905 Revolution, more specifically the mutiny that occurred in 1905 when the crew of Potemkin rebelled against their officers of the Tsar regime. Another example is the Soviet film, Ballad of a Soldier, which is a World War II film that tells the story of a Russian soldier who is trying to go home during a leave from the line of duty. Yet another example is the film Circus, in which an American circus artist gives birth to a black baby, who is discriminated against until the he takes refuge in the Stalin Soviet Union, where he is embraced by the Soviets. These type films are the typical Russian films before western influence was brought to Russia. With a large amount of themes censored out of the films by the government, filmmakers produced films that always showed Russians as the good guys, whereas Americans and the Germans were almost always the bad ones. Many of their films were also war movies depicting the brave actions of Russian soldiers while throwing in a love story every now and then to keep the audience interested.
All of this ended quite abruptly when the Soviet Union began to collapse. Censorship become more and more lax and eventually all themes were allowed to be shown in the films, ending with the acceptance of sexuality and drugs into Russian films. The first real influence of Hollywood in Russian film was seen in Russia’s version of American Westerns, “Ostern”, which mean “Eastern”. The Russian filmmakers were clearly imitating the Westerns we are used to in the United States. They used parts of Yugoslavia, Mongolia, and the Southern USSR to create the backdrops for the scenes. The themes of the movies were basically a pure imitation: guns, horse riding, working the land, pioneers, railroads, and outlaws going across the rugged countryside. However, there are differences between the two; there is much more sympathy for working people, Native Americans, and Mexicans, most probably due to the fact that the Russians had no real encounters with the latter two, and thus had no grudges against them. The most noticeable example of this is in the movie, The Sons of the Great Bear, where the Native Americans are the heroes, whereas the American Army is the enemy, which is the case mostly because of the ongoing Cold War, during which Americans could never be portrayed positive in any way. However, the outlaws in the movies have the same disdain for the business class as well as religion and the “American dream”.
In the mid-80’s, following these Westerns, censorship was relaxed even more, to the point where it was basically non-existent. The two main themes that remained to be uncensored were sexuality and drug use. There are two significant films that depict these two themes. The Needle is a movie that tells the story of a man named Moro who is seeking to get back the money a man owes him. While waiting for this money he visits his ex-girlfriends Dina who is now a morphine addict. The movie describes how he tries to help her quit and fight the mafia which is exploiting her. Drugs and the Mafia are themes that are very common now in Hollywood films such as The Godfather, and the more recent film American Gangster. Another movie, Little Vera, is a film about a couple who fall in love with each other and who want to get married, but the girl’s parents including her alcoholic father object. After lying to her father about being pregnant, the girl Vera, they get married, but Sergey, her husband and her dad continuously argue until finally, her father stabs Sergey which leads to much turmoil in the family.
Once the Soviet Union completely collapsed, it took no time for Western influence to completely take over Russian cinema, so much so, that in fact it has now pretty much completely replaced Russian cinema. Where before forty to fifty films used to be produced, now only four or five are produced a year. At the rate with which the trends are going, within a decade or so, there is a strong possibility that Russian cinema will die altogether: “In 1992, Russia produced 172 films; in 1993, 152 films; by 1994, 68 films; in 1995, 46 films; in 1996, only 20 films, putting Russia behind Sweden and Poland in the “second tier” of European film production. At this rate, the “blood count” by the end of 1997 should be around thirteen feature films. (Condee 1)” Even though there were many films released initially after the collapse of the Communist Regime, there are basically no significant films to mention once the 1990’s begin.
When taking a look at how Russian films changed after the arrival of Hollywood’s influence, it is very clear that there is a clear correlation between the arrival of Western influence with the destruction of Russian cinema. Although initially, this influence did not negatively affect the Soviet Union’s national cinema, immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the amount and quality of the films produced drastically decreased as film industry stopped being funded by the government: “The 1980s and 1990s were a period of crisis in Russian cinema. Although Russian filmmakers became free to express themselves, state subsidies were drastically reduced, resulting in fewer films produced. (“Russia”)” This resulted in the film industry being almost completely replaced by Hollywood films. Most of the time, the Westernization of international films is viewed as a good thing because it allows us to watch these movies and have a greater chance of enjoying them, but in the case of Russia, it has almost resulted in the annihilation of Russian films.
Works Cited
"Cinema of Russia: Information from Answers.com." Answers.com - Online Dictionary, Encyclopedia and much more. 20 Apr. 2009
Condee, Nancy. THE DEATH OF RUSSIAN CINEMA, OR SOCHI: RUSSIA?S LAST RESORT. Stanford University. 20 Apr. 2009
"Ostern." Wikipedia. 20 Apr. 2009
"Russia." Answers.com - Online Dictionary, Encyclopedia and much more. 20 Apr. 2009
Hollywood’s Overbearing Undeniable Effect on Editing and Cinematography in Australian Cinema
Taking a step back and looking at the countries of the United States and Australia, one cannot help but notice the astounding resemblance between the two countries’ cultures. While on one hand Australia has the heritage and culture of the native Aborigine tribes, the urban and popular culture of Australia bears a striking similitude to our own nation. But when looking at world history between Australia, the United States, and Great Britain, things begin to make sense. The US as well as Australia were both colonized by the British. Therefore, the similarity between these nations has a foundation. Now adding to that the widespread popularity of America’s pop culture, we gain a better grasp of why things appear the way they do. Through the analysis of the power of Hollywood and US pop culture on the world, moreover Australia, the similarity between the two nations, as well as certain Australian cinema, an argument will be developed for a more in depth knowledge of the effects of the US on Australian cinema.
In order to begin this greater understanding, a foundation must be set as a reference. The impressive history of Australian cinema has made it one of the most distinguishable and recognized countries around the world for producing very popular films. The Australians have been producing internationally competitive movies for over a hundred years, and continue to do so today. The extensive list of talented actors and directors are a living testament to this. However, because of the success of Hollywood, many of these actors come to America to gain greater exposure, and seldom go back to the homeland to produce domestic movies. In order to take a stand against Hollywood, the Australian government is involved with the countries film industry by way of funding through a media agency known as Screen Australia. Also, some studios moved to, or were built in Australia, namely Fox Studios Australia and Warner Roadshow Studios, in order to lure large productions in lieu of lower filming costs.
One notable Australian romantic comedy, “Strictly Ballroom”, shows the unquestionableinfluence of Hollywood on Australian cinema, specifically the editing and cinematography. “Strictly
Ballroom,” directed by Baz Luhrmann, is about a man who has grown up into the ballroom dancing
culture, and happens to be a very good dancer. However, his parents look down on him when he
tries to dance his own steps.
When his dancing partner leaves him, he gets a new one that he will fall in love with and dance
with at the big competition. Soon he finds out that the competition is fixed, but he and his partner
“dance with their hearts” anyways and go ahead to be a huge crowd pleaser. He finds out that his
parents also encountered a problem when going to the same competition when they were young,
and they bend the truth to try and convince him to not dance his own steps. All in all, we never find
out the outcome of the competition because the greater issue at hand is the fact that the two young
dancers have fallen in love. “Strictly Ballroom” was a movie that was said to be the “Australian
version of the American dance films of the 1940s,” (Hutcheson 1) and that the movie ”enticed from
the suburbs thousands who go to see films most infrequently and, even more rarely, Australian
ones” (Hutcheson 1). As far as the editing goes, Luhrmann (who would later go on to Hollywood),
inherited some American techniques. In “Strictly Ballroom,” the editing takes on a Hollywood look
with the scenes that were “designed to permit seamless transitions from shot to shot…Invisible
cutting was the aim” (Bowan 2). Moreover, one of the most prominent editing similarities between
Luhrmann’s “Strictly Ballroom” is the way “[he] has… used wipes that were popular in Hollywood
films of the thirties and forties” (Bowan 2).
Other editing techniques used in “Strictly Ballroom” such as jump cuts as well as accelerated montages that “function as alienation devices, reminding the audience that they are watching a story, not a slice of life” (Bowan 2) These jump cuts and montages are also very commonly found in editing American movies.
In Australia, as well as other countries there is a debate as to whether it is good or bad to produce film highly influenced on Hollywood cinema. In Australia seems the most common way of thinking is that “it is positive to be Hollywood-influenced and negative not to be” (Rowly 3). Devaluing national cinema and admitting to the value of Hollywood is part of how filmmakers--- like Baz Luhrmann… declare the ‘newness,’ ‘relevance,’ and ‘importance’ of their work.” It is along this line of thinking that we prove not only the fact of Hollywood’s effect on Australian cinema, but also the sheer magnitude of this effect. With Australian cinema there are two ways you can go: you can be Hollywood-influenced, or you have to go against the norm of filmmaking so hard that people find it entertaining. There is no happy medium between the two, and the latter of the two is not very feasible, and more often than not fails. With huge production studios right at home in Sydney, their decision is basically made up for them. This is compiled with the fact that Hollywood runs the Australian box office anyways so it makes sense to make films like Hollywood films because those are the ones that do well in their own country.
Another film we can discuss would be the film “Australia,” also directed by Baz Luhrmann.
This is an interesting film because it is directed by an Australian,and the main actors areAustralian
(Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman) who have made their careers big in Hollywood. The film is about
Australia in the 1940’s and the racism that went on during that period with the Aborigines and the
Japanese. This film was a large effort to make a Hollywood type film, with all native Australians,
(but all made their careers in Hollywood), directed by an Australian who made his career in
Hollywood, give it a Hollywood sized budget ($130,000,000 subsidized by the Australian
government), and make it about a period in Australian history. The story was meant to be made as
a way to bring Australians together away from racism, and as a way to advertise Australia to
foreigners and promote tourism. They did this by giving it an
Australian story that paid respect to Hollywood style western films. There has been some criticism even, of Luhrmann “shoehorning Australia’s sprawling and untidy history into stories drawn from other sources, particularly the American western” (Rundle 4). So in this sense the story may have even been altered in order to make it more like an American western to appeal to the Hollywood crowd.
All in all, it is obvious for a number of reasons why Australian cinema is influenced so much by Hollywood and the United States. With such a great presence at the box office, Hollywood in a way forces Australian film producers to mimic or produce films very similar to the movies that are dominant in their very own country. These similarities can range from filming techniques and editing all the way to portraying classic Hollywood genres with their own history. Overall, alike or not those involved with the cinema of both the United States and Australia have much to be proud of, and are respected among the entire world.
Works Cited
1. Hutcheson, Tearlach. http://www.utexas.edu/depts/cas/anzsana/papers/hutcheson1996.html
2. Bowan, Lorraine.
http://www.hsc.csu.edu.au/english/esl/experience/elect2/strictly_ballroom/ballroom_terms.html
3. Rowley, Stephen. http://home.mira.net/~satadaca/australi.htm
4.Rundle, Guy. http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/6037/
Dancing Styles in Indian Cinema
Many different cultural cinemas are changing and trying to keep up with many of the advances seen recently in
Bollywood dancing is used in many Bollywood films. “ Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham ”
is a Bollywood film made in 2001 and produced by Yash Raj films . The film's director is Karan Joha . This film is about a young man, Rahul who is forced into an arranged marriage that he does not agree to. After his adopted father, Yash, finds out that he married the women Rahul loved, instead of the woman of the arrangement, he becomes enraged and disowns his son. His son moves to
ghout this film, there are many dance sequences portrayed in Bollywood style dancing. These dance moves are highly energetic with flowing motions, upbeat rhythms, and whole-body movements. According to the article “Bringing Bollywood Home”, Bollywood is “ a dance style that is fun, energetic and very expressive. The movement requires sharp control, good expression, timing and rhythm”. These dancing styles seem to have adopted Westernized Hollywood styles of dancing as well as traditional Indian styles and integrated them into what is now considered to be “Bollywood” dancing. Paul Bibby states in the article “Sari Sari Night” that, " Bollywood dance is a fusion of half a dozen different forms - Bhangra, Arabic, hip-hop and jazz," Shah says. ‘It takes everything from the West and puts it into a big melting pot with other styles. So what we're essentially doing is imitating Indians who are imitating the West - it's a bit of a bizarre thing but it works.’" In the film, the dancing scenes help to portray the story. In several scenes, the emotions of the love story is meant to be expressed. In the article “Hop + Bollywood Moves = Big Crowds” it explains that, “ in a Bollywood movie, the dancers are trying to tell a story of romance.”
The 2003 Hindi film “Kal Ho Naa Ho”,
also produced by Yash Raj films,was directed by Nikhil Advani . This film is about a woman, Naina, whose family life is terrible. She struggles through rough times until she meets Aman. Aman helps to solve the family's problems and bring happiness to them. After a love triangle between Naina, Aman, and a friend named Rohit, Aman gives up his love for Naina because of a health condition he possesses so that Rohit and Naina can have a long life together. Naina eventually discovers the reason for Aman's actions and finds out he does love her. After everything is solved, Rohit and Naina marry, and after time passes, they comfort Aman as he passes on. This film has many Bollywood styled dance scenes as well. The scenes help to portray the emotions and story of the film through movements, expressions, and moods. The music helps to relay the emotions gathered by the audience as well as by setting the tone of the scene and story being told. The costumes of the dancers are normally very elaborate and colorful. The materials used and the styles of the fabric help to enhance the visual effects of the movements of the dancers. The lighting and camera angles of the scenes also help to enhance all of these features of the settings of the scenes. All of these aspects represent the story being expressed through the dance sequences.
Bollywood dancing is a melting pot of many styles and influences. Typical Bollywood dancing is a“blend of
, an example of westernized dance movements used in the Bollywood dance sequences of this film is disco style dancing. In this scene, several dance moves were used that come from the disco era in the Unites States. Some of the moves reflected specifically the dance moves from John Travolta in the film “Saturday Night Fever”
from 1977. The style of disco moves used in this film has influenced films throughout history in
in the film “Kal Ho Naa Ho”. In the scene, the two characters dance to each other in a club type location. The dancing is all synchronized for each character’s “side”. The specific moves in this dance scene resemble moves from the American music video “Single Ladies
” by Beyonce Knowles. The style of movement in each of these dance scenes look very similar and are of the same style. The arm movements, body motions, and overall style are very similar and represent typical hip hop style dancing. Not only does Bollywood adapt dance forms, but it uses settings as well. Another trait about the Bollywood dancing scene in the song “You Are My Sonia” is the setting. In the scene, the characters are dancing in a night club. The atmosphere and setting of the scene is very similar to the settings of many
“Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion” shows a few club scenes where the atmospheres are very similar. The lighting used, the style of music, the colors of the frames, and the movements of the characters are very similar to the scene in “You Are My Sonia” in the film “Kal Ho Naa Ho”.
The adaptation of Westernized Hollywood styles in Bollywood productions is significant. The article "Joy in the Swirl of" explains “ Think of high energy, vibrant colors and masses of dancers with a look that fuses East and West cultural influences and you have Bollywood dancing, a style that has had universal appeal for many years largely because of the global proliferation of Indian Bollywood movies and large-scale stage productions”. By the blending of these styles, Indian films “promote the influence of Bollywood culture in the West and you have a social dance phenomena” as stated in the article "Joy in the Swirl of." The Indian film’s adaptive Bollywood dancing has made these films quite unique. Even though Bollywood dancing has been influenced by other countries and cultures, the dancing itself in Bollywood film has made it a national trait of Indian cinema.
Bollywood dancing is not only effective from the dance moves alone. The singing, bright costumes, scenery, lighting, editing, setting, and overall tone of Bollywood dancing have evolved with the help of Hollywood influence. In the film “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Ghan”, the Bollywood dancing was influenced by the disco era in
Works Cited
Bibby, Paul. "Sari, Sari Night." Sydney Morning Herald
"Bringing Bollywood Home." The
"Hip Hop + Bollywood Moves = Big Crowds."
"Joy in the Swirl of." The
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